Found great property 21k home value 400k-600k but 2 hours away..

[Elisha Buckingham]

Hey everyone

So, I'm a newbie. My in laws are gifting me with 50k to invest in real estate. I found a nice REO property, that's about 2 hours away from us now. It pretty much fixed up, just waiting for kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and flooring installation. The property has land, and property value of that area is 400k-600k. I figured this was a great investment. Even if I didn't do the installations, I could still resale it at a higher price than 21k, but I would be willing to be invested in the time, and effort needed to get this property as they would call it, "flipped"

Flipping was not my original intentions. I wanted to purchase multi family properties. However, the purchase pricing in my area are fairly high and to find a good deal will also take time. So I decided to see what other ventures I could make.

I wanted to know, if anyone had any suggestions, or advice regarding this purchase, and also fixing it up for resale.

I spoke to a few people, and one person said don't do it because of how far it is, they were worried about not being able to readily pop up and check on the property or contractors  because of the time of commute.

here are some pictures

[Mitch VanDeveer]

As a general contractor the pictures tell me it has been flooded and potentially has/had mold issues.  The white paint and the OSB used on the sub floor tell me someone has already attempted at "restoring" something and the mold could have easily not been addressed in a professional manner. Does it have a basement?  The OSB could have been used as a temporary "fix" for rotten plywood to make the house safe to view.  2 things.. Contact the listing agent and ask for the prior mold testing reports.  Make sure there is a before and after.  If these aren't available i would contact a microbiologist to run a mold test.  Just google independent mold testing and stay away from any results where the company is also a restoration "contractor".  You want a company that only provides testing and can write you an action plan based upon the results.  If mold is found at an unacceptable level I would have a contractor review the plan of action report and walk the property to evaluate it for potential structural repairs due to prolonged exposure to moisture.

A wise man once said when something seems to good to be true it usually is